Recycled glass garden?

EMMA DANGERFIELD

Last updated 12:47 06/02/2013

Emma Dangerfield

Crushed recycled glass from Innovative Waste Kaikoura is being sold for landscaping among other uses. Pictured is house owner Dawn Calvert who challenges the council to start using the locally-produced and sustainable product

It might sound like an odd idea at first, but when you think about it, glass is really only a step away from sand, so why not use it in your garden?

When Dawn Calvert heard about the new glass sorting and crushing scheme at Innovative Waste Kaikoura, and the many uses for the end product including for pathways and landscaping, she got to thinking.

Now she is the first major customer of a large quantity of the crushed glass, which she has used in her garden in contrast with other materials including bark chip and stone.

"It's the point of difference that's the thing I liked, it's interesting to use different materials," she says. "I think there is the potential for people to make really creative gardens with it."

But that is not the only thing she likes about the 100 per cent recycled product. It is also a solution to the ever-increasing problem of waste, and with Kaikoura's sustainable philosophy and earthcheck status it fits right in. It looks good, too.

"You can use it mixed together, or get the different colours separately . . .when it's dry it looks like beach pebbles and when it's wet it glistens. Plus it stops the weeds growing!"

And in turn, the glass is being returned to close to its original state. There are different grades being produced at Innovative Waste, from coarse to fine, depending on its end use, which can be for a range of things from sand-blasting to bunker sand for golf courses and even pool filtration. Dawn would like to see it being used around Kaikoura for features by local artists, or even just in landscaping around town.

"I challenge the council to put their money where their supposedly green mouths are. It would showcase it and it's an innovative scheme. The council should definitely be see to be supporting [this initiative] by using it themselves."